Beer and fried chicken — Thanks to a South Korean drama currently on air, Man From the Stars, this new mix-and-match junk food trend has become popular among young audiences, despite its unhealthy nature. Indeed, South Korean TV dramas, or K-drama for short, have been a major force in the South Korean pop-culture wave that has captured the hearts of young Chinese audiences. According to iQiyi, a video website that features Man From the Stars, by Feb 15, the number of views for the TV drama hit 370 million in China.
“It is interesting to explore what elements of those dramas appeal to audiences. It’s obviously more than just pretty faces,” says Yan Feng, a professor of Chinese literature at Fudan University. Reflected by audiences, culture critics and insiders of the industry, youth fantasy, creative storylines, cultural
proximity, and well-organized production all add up to K-drama’s success, along with, of course, those handsome and cute faces dressed in the latest fashion trends.
“Everyone fancies a perfect partner, handsome or beautiful,” says Zhou Ying, a professor at Chongqing Technology and Business University. “The South Korean TV industry is feeding this need.” After Lee Min-ho appeared on CCTV’s annual Spring Festival gala, he became the most famous South Korean in China. Only weeks later, Kim Soo-hyun, lead actor in Man From the Stars, swept the country. Apart from pretty faces, fashion is another highlight of the series. Each time actors from the series wear a new set of outfits, similar clothes experience a sales boom online, according to Xiao Yi, a Taobao store owner.
As is known, with love triangles, incurable diseases, and Cinderella tales, storylines in South Korean dramas may seem a bit commonplace. While The Man From the Stars challenges this by putting aliens and time travel into these existing stories, Peng Sanyuan, a screenwriter, says a focus on detail is a key factor in the success of these dramas. “In order to accurately target audiences and find emotional reflections with them, more and more female writers are working in the industry,” says Peng about her experience of exchanging ideas with South Korean colleagues. According the experts, South Korean writers somehow make sense of these plots, no matter how unlikely it seems.
小题1:Why has beer and fried chicken become so popular among Chinese young people at present?
| A．Because the food tastes very great. |
| B．Because they want to change the trend. |
| C．Because the food is good for their health. |
| D．Because they are deeply affected by the Korean TV drama. |
小题2:What’s the meaning of the underlined word “proximity” in paragraph 2?
| A．similarity | B．difference | C．conflict | D．curiosity |
小题3:According to the whole passage, how many elements can lead to the appeal of Korean dramas?
小题4:After reading the third paragraph, which of the following is right?
| A．Lee Min-ho is the lead actor in Man From the Stars. |
| B．Kim Soo-hyun appeared on CCTV’s annual Spring Festival gala |
| C．The similar clothes worn by the Korean actors become very hot online. |
| D．Everyone has a perfect partner, who is handsome or beautiful. |
小题5:What makes Man From the Stars different from other K-dramas according to the last paragraph?
| A．Female writers | B．Creative stories | C．Pretty faces | D．Fashionable clothes |
